| Student enrollment in colleges and universities has increased markedly during the last three decades. Between Fall 1970 and Fall 2000, enrollment in all degree-granting institutions rose from 8.5 million to about 15.1 million students (Cox, Friesner, & Khayum, 2003, p. 175). Simultaneously, there has been a proliferation of developmental skills programs in higher education institutions, largely in response to an increasing proportion of underprepared college students (p. 175). The overall purpose of this research study is to understand the problem of retention in higher education and to determine to what degree learning support services (LSS) contribute to student persistence. In addition, it assessed the developmental mathematics retention program at a private college to determine if it contributed to student persistence in their subsequent math course. A comparative study of students enrolled in College Basic Mathematics 099 who utilized the Learning Support Services to those who did not was conducted. |
